


The First of Many Candles

by EmisFritish



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, birthday goodness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:21:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26638759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmisFritish/pseuds/EmisFritish
Summary: Today is Carlos’s birthday, and TK swears he isn’t trying to ruin it on purpose. Really.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Comments: 4
Kudos: 131





	The First of Many Candles

**Author's Note:**

  * For [howtosingit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/howtosingit/gifts).



> For @howtosingit, because today you deserve everything. I wish you the happiest of birthdays and I hope you enjoy this tiny contribution into that crazy fandom of yours.
> 
> I hope you know how truly and completely I love you, and that you are one of my favourite people on earth. However, I also truly hope you know that the chances of this happening again are slim, because man writing them was HARD XD

This is definitely shaping up to be one of the best birthdays he’s had, Carlos thinks when he wakes up to the pleasant feeling of soft kisses being peppered all over his face, lips and slight stubble brushing against his skin every few seconds, and he smiles softly at the gesture.

Even with his eyes still closed and in his half awake state, there’s no way he wouldn’t recognize the lips that are continuing to shower him with affection, and even if he had hoped to sleep in a little more today of all days, he has to admit this is one hell of a wake up call.

His birthday truly is shaping up to be a great one already, he thinks as he opens up his eyes and is faced with one smiling TK Strand.

“Morning,” whispers TK with a soft smile, before he bends down once more from where he is leaning on the side of the bed to press his lips against his.

“TK, I have morning breath,” Carlos tries to protest, prompting the other man to sit up from his position, and pick up the mint box they keep on the nightstand for this very reason.

As TK opens the box in search of one of the sweets, Carlos recalls Owen’s speech from when he had found a very similar box in TK’s room, and had gifted them both with a speech about how sweets and sugar this early in the morning or before bed was bad for both one’s dental hygiene and one’s health. TK had kept quiet about the reason they had the need to keep such a thing in close proximity to the bed and had just let his father’s lecture roll over him, which Carlos was still thankful for today, wishing to retain somewhat of a professional relationship with the older man.

Thankfully, all thoughts of Owen are quickly pushed away from Carlos’s mind as soon as TK drops the mint box onto the side of the bed. His boyfriend bends forward and pushes one of the mints in his mouth, before he dives right back onto his lips for a heated kiss.

Well, ok then. He really doesn't need further encouragement.

After a few minutes of their tongues brushing against each other as they trade lazy kisses, Carlos brings both of his arms to go around TK’s neck, pulling the other man fully against him until his boyfriend is straddling his body and hovering over him.

At the move, TK peppers a few more quick kisses against Carlos’s lips before he tries to pull away, only to laugh against Carlos’s lips when his boyfriend refuses to budge to let him lean away.

“Happy birthday,” TK says softly, once Carlos finally allows him to pull back, and Carlos feels his mouth lift up into an answering smile.

“How are you here ? I thought you had to work,” he asks his boyfriend, eyes wandering all over his boyfriend’s face as if not quite able to believe the other man is truly here, and TK just grins at him.

“Actually, I requested the day off weeks ago. I wanted to surprise you,” TK replies, and Carlos feels his heart warm in his chest at the words.

The fact that TK was thoughtful enough to request his birthday off of work and come here to surprise him would have been enough to melt Carlos’s heart already, but what really does Carlos in is the fact that if TK is in his bed this morning and came in while he was asleep, it means he actually used the spare key to Carlos’s apartment which was given to him weeks ago, but that he still seldom uses.

Although everything has been close to perfect in the months since him and TK finally got together officially, Carlos knows that his boyfriend still sometimes feels a little spooky about letting himself fall headfirst into a fully committed relationship, when he still vividly remembers the rug brutally being pulled from under him during his last relationship.

Both of them have been working on building trust and creating something solid for the past couple of months, and TK finally feeling comfortable to use the key and let himself into his house feels like a huge step forward, which Carlos feels elated about.

 _Progress_ , he thinks happily, as he pulls on TK’s neck again until the other man leans back into him.

Their lazy kissing is interrupted a few minutes later when Carlos pulls back and wrinkles his nose, a strange smell catching him off guard.

“What’s that smell ?”

At the words, he sees TK’s eyes pop out of his head, before his boyfriend jumps off from the bed and makes a run out of the bedroom.

“Shit !” he hears his scream from further into the apartment, and Carlos laughs when the distinctive smell of burnt food reaches him.

“TK, I know you’re a firefighter, but please refrain from burning down my kitchen for the fun of it,” he shouts from where he is still lying down on the bed, only to laugh harder when he hears the uncomplimentary answer coming from down the hall.

A minute later, TK sheepishly walks back into the bedroom, carrying a plate with what has to be the worst looking cake Carlos has ever seen in his life, and he can’t hold in the laughter at his boyfriend’s dejected face.

The entire top half of the cake is so burnt that the knife TK must have used to try and cut it is actually standing tall in the middle of it, held still by the thick crisp of black and burnt cake batter on each side.

TK sighs, looking down at the plate, before he dumps it onto Carlo’s chest of drawers and walks back towards the bed to straddle Carlos’s hips once again.

“That was supposed to be your birthday cake,” he says dejected, and Carlos feels a new wave of laughter building up in his chest at how crestfallen his boyfriend looks at having burned the cake he must have baked quietly this morning after letting himself into the house while Carlos was still sleeping.

God, his boy really could be the cutest sometimes.

“Well I don’t think we really ought to eat that,” Carlos teases, and TK whines at the words.

“I did my best !”

“I know you did,” Carlos smiles, appreciating the gesture and the time it must have taken for TK to plan out all of this.

“I had even bought candles and everything,” his boyfriend keeps moaning, prompting Carlos to chuckle.

“Well… since we can’t blow the candles out, I can think of something else that could use some blowing,” Carlos teases with an exaggerated movement of his brows.

“Officer Reyes, are you propositioning me ?” TK exclaims, falsely scandalized. “Need I remind you that you are an officer of the law ?”

“Oh trust me, I know. And I’m standing tall and ready for action right now,” Carlos replies with a cocky grin.

A few seconds of silence pass, before TK bursts out laughing, dropping against Carlos’s chest until his head is nestled between his boyfriend’s neck and shoulder.

“Oh my god, that was awful,” he exclaims from his hiding place. “I don’t think I can actually blow you now. Not after you made the worst birthday pun ever,” he teases, his breath tickling Carlos’s skin.

Carlos smiles fondly at the gesture, always happy to elicit such a joyful reaction from TK, even if it is at his own expense.

Still, he’s not about to pass on a birthday blowjob though.

“Come on TK, it’s my birthday,” he whines, and TK lifts his head back up to stare at him, fondness written all over his face.

“Carlos Reyes. Turning 28, but behaving like an 8 year old.”

“Well, I don’t know what sort of activities you got up to at 8 years old, but…” Carlos starts to say, only to be cut off mid-sentence by TK diving back down and into him.

“Oh my god shut up,” his boyfriend whispers against his lips, before he starts back the heated kissing they were sharing earlier this morning.

As Carlos feels his boyfriend’s lips traveling down his neck and chest, he closes his eyes back up, enjoying the pampering TK is currently showering him with.

Just as TK’s mouth is nearing the place Carlos has been dying to feel his lips on and his boyfriend has only been teasing for minutes now, his doorbell rings and he groans in frustration.

“Maybe they’ll go away ?” TK asks hopefully, facing up towards Carlos, but his face clearly indicates that he already knows it’s not an option, which Carlos confirms by shaking his head firmly.

It may be stupid, but being a police officer, he could never actually ignore someone at his door. Not when he’s seen enough cases to know that sometimes a stranger opening up their door is all it can take to save someone’s life if they are in danger.

TK, who knows Carlos well enough to know that there’s no way they are just ignoring this, presses one last regretful kiss just below Carlos’s navel before he pushes back to sit upwards.

“Shouldn’t you go and open the door then ?” he asks, and Carlos looks at him incredulously.

“You expect me to go like this ?” he asks indignantly, eyeing down to where he’s still sporting a very obvious semi, which prompts TK to smile proudly.

“I guess you have a point. I’ll go,” he concedes, getting up from the bed before he starts making his way out of the bedroom.

“Wait, TK !” Carlos tells him just as he’s about to leave the bedroom. “You’re seriously going to go and open the door like this ?”

He eyes TK down, pointing to where his boyfriend is clad in only a pair of boxers and a tee-shirt with the saying ‘Say hey if you’re gay tee-shirt’ plastered to the front, but TK just shrugs in answer.

“But it could be my neighbors !” Carlos whisper-shouts, and TK grins at him.

“Well if it is, they deserve this for coming to see you this early on your birthday morning,” he answers back with a smile, before he walks confidently out of the bedroom and towards the front door.

Carlos drops back down on his bed, willing his semi to go away and shaking his head at the other man.

TK could be so shameless sometimes, but god was he falling in love with the guy anyway.

At the sound of a familiar voice, Carlos immediately sits back up onto his bed, mouth opening in shock.

“Oh, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your sleep,” he hears the person say, before his boyfriend stammers back.

“Mrs. Carlos-- I mean, Mrs. Reyes ! Hello !” his boyfriend stutters, surely having recognized the woman at the door from the pictures of his family Carlos has laying around his apartment. “I am so sorry to be meeting you in this state, please come in,” TK pursues, just as Carlos scrambles up from the bed to hastily pull on a pair of shorts.

“Mama, hi !” he says as he makes his way out of the bedroom.

Truly, there is nothing like hearing one’s mother’s voice to fully kill a man’s semi.

“What are you doing here ?” he asks as he rushes out towards her and hugs his mother hello.

When he pulls back, he sees TK still standing next to the door, his cheeks heated red in mortification, and he can’t but feel amused at the sight.

That’ll teach his boyfriend to go and open the door in an outfit that Carlos should be the only one to see him in anyway.

“Well, I think I’m going to go and…” TK starts to say before drifting off, clearly not knowing how to finish his sentence but wanting to regroup after the untimed encounter with his boyfriend’s mother.

Seeing how embarrassed his boyfriend still looks and not able to imagine how he would feel if their situations were reversed, Carlos decides to throw him a rope.

“You should go and get changed babe. We’ll be there when you’re done,” Carlos tells him kindly, and he sees TK nod gratefully, although patches of red are making their way down his neck.

“Right, I’ll do that,” he stutters. “It’s very nice to meet you Mrs. Reyes. I’ll be uh… I’ll be back.”

He rushes out of the room, and as soon as he’s in the bathroom and they hear the door closing behind him, Carlos turns towards his mother, only to see her smile amusedly towards him.

“So that was the infamous TK !” she smiles at him, and Carlos rolls his eyes, knowing he’s in for some teasing.

He walks back towards his bedroom to find a tee-shirt, and his mother follows him into the room, pausing when she sees the forgotten cake sitting on the chest of drawers where TK had left the plate earlier.

“And that is... ?” she asks, trying not to show her disdain towards the state of the cake, and Carlos can’t help but laugh at the offended look on her face.

“That would be TK’s attempt at baking a birthday cake,” he says fondly as he pulls a tee-shirt over his head.

His mother nods in understanding, but Carlos can see her trying to hold in her laughter.

“Right, that was very nice of him. The cake definitely seems…” she trails off, obviously not knowing how to politely describe the semblance of a baked good sitting in front of her.

“It seems inedible, and it has to be the worst cake you’ve seen in your life,” TK’s voice finishes her sentence, and both Carlos and his mother turn towards the bedroom door where his boyfriend is now standing, dressed in a pair of jeans and one of Carlos’s shirts, a lot more presentable than he was 10 minutes ago.

Carlos’s mother laughs at TK’s words, and both of the boys chuckle too.

“You don’t have to be nice, trust me. I know it was a catastrophe,” TK smiles at her, before he walks forward and reaches out with one of his hands to shake hers.

“Hi Mrs. Reyes, I’m TK. I’m very sorry for what happened earlier, but it’s very nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you,” TK continues, with one of his mega-watt smiles, and Carlos can see his mother melt on the spot.

Which… He can totally understand, really. What with how he falls more and more for his boyfriend every time the smile is aimed at him.

“No apologies necessary cariño, that was my fault. I should have warned I was coming,” she says, pulling TK into a quick hug instead of reaching out for his hand.

Carlos smiles warmly at the picture of his boyfriend in his mother’s arms, especially when he sees the shocked look on the other man’s face from where it’s popping over his mother’s shoulder.

“As for the cake, it’s the thought that counts. How about I make us all some breakfast so we can all get to know each other ?” she asks kindly, and Carlos feels a wave of love for his mother and how easily she adapts to any situation.

“Actually,” TK starts to say, and for a second, Carlos is afraid that the other man is going to announce he’s leaving. Maybe meeting his mother feels like too much pressure for him, like too much too fast...

“How about I go and get some breakfast for all three of us ? So that you can catch up a little while I’m gone. There’s a great bakery that my dad swears by fairly close to here. I could go now and be back in half an hour tops. It’s only fair I go, after you just drove to come here,” TK offers with a smile, which has his mother looking pleased.

Carlos feels his heart quiet down in his chest at the words, and he beams towards TK.

Not running, then.

“That sounds lovely cariño,” his mother replies, and Carlos takes a second to try and remember when the last time his mother warmed up this quickly to one of his boyfriends was. Which is probably never, if he’s honest.

Must be the Strand effect.

At the words, TK nods once to himself, before he walks into the bedroom and automatically presses a quick kiss to Carlos’s lips.

When he pulls away, Carlos sees his eyes pop out, looking like a deer caught in the headlight when he seemingly remembers that his boyfriend’s mother is in the room. Carlos just smiles reassuringly towards him, before TK makes his way to leave the apartment.

As soon as the front door shuts behind him, Carlos’s mother whips around to turn towards him and beams.

“Me encanta !” she says excitedly, and Carlos laughs at her enthusiasm. “It’s true ! He seems very sweet. And obviously, he’s very fond of you.”

Carlos is pleasantly surprised at hearing the words.

Obviously, he knows that TK likes him, and he hopes the other man is starting to fall for him as deeply as Carlos himself is falling for TK.

But TK, for all he wears his heart on his sleeve most times, can sometimes be a bit of an enigma for Carlos, and he was afraid that the love he swears he can see written on TK’s face sometimes was just wishful thinking on his part.

“You think so ?” he asks, bashful, which prompts his mother to walk closer to him and caress his cheek briefly.

“I know so,” she reassures him. “This one’s here to stay, I can tell from the love shining in his eyes.”

Carlos smiles warmly towards his mother, although he can feel his cheeks heat up in a way no one but TK can truly elicit from him.

“I really like him Mama,” he whispers, and his mother hums.

“I know, I can tell.”

He smiles bashfully and she looks at him fondly, before she starts turning around in the bedroom.

“Now young man, let’s tidy up this apartment a bit before that boy of yours comes back,” she orders, and Carlos groans at the words.

“But Mama, it’s my birthday,” he whines, and his mother turns towards him and stares him down.

“Yes, and I was the one who actually did all the work by pushing you into the world that day, so vamonos !”

And well… There’s truly nothing he can say to refute those words anyway.

Later on, after TK’s come back with what his mother said were some of the best croissants she’s had in her life, and after the three of them have spent the entire day talking and laughing, his mother regaling TK with all of Carlos’s exploits from his youth, his mother goes back home after dropping a fond kiss on both of their foreheads, leaving Carlos and TK alone once again.

As they lie in bed, Carlos turns to his side and caresses one of TK’s cheeks.

“My mother really liked you,” he says softly, and TK turns his head towards him and smiles, embarrassed.

“Not quite how I imagined meeting her,” he says, and Carlos laughs at the words. “I’m not sure how your mother can like me after this, I didn’t think she’d end up liking the barely dressed, stupid, ex-addict man she met at the front door this morning, but somehow she managed. Your mom must be some kind of angel,” TK continues self-deprecatingly, and Carlos moves closer to him.

“Well I don’t know about the man you’re describing, but I knew for sure she would like my sweet, smart, brave, strong and funny boyfriend though.” Carlos corrects him simply, and TK turns to his side himself so they are facing each other, before smiling gratefully at him.

“Although said boyfriend really is terrible at baking. I have to say, I am a little sad I didn’t get to eat any cake today though,” Carlos continues, and TK pushes gently on his shoulder in retaliation.

“I’m sorry ! I promise, I’ll do better next year. No more of this baking a cake nonsense, store bought food it is,” TK exclaims, and Carlos feels his breath catch in his throat.

Next year.

He has to admit he likes the sound of that.

And he loves the fact that the words just naturally rolled out on TK’s tongue without a thought, as if it’s a given for his boyfriend that he’ll still be there to celebrate Carlos’s birthday with him next year.

“That sounds good,” Carlos replies, voice shaking a little, and TK smiles up towards him.

“Happy birthday Carlos,” his boyfriend whispers, emotion and happiness shining in his eyes. And although those three words aren’t the ones his mother said she could read in TK’s eyes earlier, Carlos hears them loud and clear anyway.

As his eyes close and Carlos starts to fall asleep, the first thought he had this morning when waking up comes rushing to the front of his mind, and he smiles at the thought that he was right.

Today has definitely been one of the best birthday’s he’s ever had, and he can’t wait to share many more with TK by his side.


End file.
